Continuity mistake: When Nick Fury is saying Tony is always up to something new, his toothpick is hanging out of the right side of his mouth. When the shot changes, it is hanging out of the left side. (00:04:53)
Continuity mistake: When Tony sits down after greeting Nick Fury, a glass of water is on the table next to him. When the shot changes, a file folder has instantly appeared next to the glass. (00:04:59)
Continuity mistake: When Nick Fury sits down on the table, the clip on the file folder is pointed towards Fury. When the shot changes, it is pointed away from him. (00:05:01)
Continuity mistake: When Nick Fury picks up the file folder, the folder is brown and the "Top Secret" label is yellow, with the word "Top" being a in a solid black and bold font and aligned to the left so that the "T" in "Top" is directly above the "S" in "Secret." When Tony is telling Fury all the things Justin Hammer has done to him, the folder is now the same yellow color as the label, the word "Top" is written in block lettering, and it is centered above the word "Secret." (00:05:10)
Continuity mistake: When the four captains of industry are climbing the cliff and nearing the top, they are more or less the same distance apart from each other. When the shot changes to them reaching the top, the one on the far left in the previous shot is now suddenly several feet away from the man that was next to him. (00:06:32)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is talking to reporters before boarding his jet, the handle of the door is at a horizontal angle. When the shot changes, the handle has rotated counter-clockwise roughly 45°. When he boards the jet and begins to rotate the handle, it is now back to being at almost the original horizontal angle, just tilted down on the right side slightly. The entire mechanism also moves closer to the window. (00:06:58)
Continuity mistake: When Justin Hammer pulls out the folded map, the outside of it is a solid brown color. When the shot changes, the map is now a lighter shade of brown and also has grid-lines at the top. (00:13:52)
Continuity mistake: When Tony is working on repairing the torso piece of his armor, it is only the chest. After H.O.M.E.R. tells him he is at risk of paralysis, the piece of armor has the back section attached to it as well. (00:03:26)
Revealing mistake: When the villagers are bringing Mandarin to the doctor in a stretcher, you can see that the animators only drew the top half of his body, and the size of the stretcher is relative to it. When the shot changes, both the Mandarin's body and the stretcher are now the appropriate sizes. (00:21:05)
Continuity mistake: When Tony Stark is talking to the reporters before boarding his jet, the interior side of the door is gray. Once he boards the jet and seals the door shut, the interior is now red. (00:06:48)
Continuity mistake: When Mandarin is shown after Fin Fang Foom calls him a thief, the rings on certain fingers are missing in some shots. (00:11:15)
Continuity mistake: When Century is first seen, the left side of his cape and shoulder pads are colored darker in color than the right side, due to being in shadow. When the shot changes, both sides are colored the same despite him not moving. (00:12:49)
Continuity mistake: When Iron Man arrives to help Rhodey battle Mandarin and the dragons, there is a shot of MODOK and Mandarin in disbelief that Iron Man is still alive. You can see MODOK has pupils on his eyes, and he is grimacing. When the shot changes, his eyes are back to being their usual blank appearance, and his mouth is closed. (00:17:44)
Continuity mistake: When Iron Man is checking on Rhodey and pulls his helmet off, part of Rhodey's chin turns gray. (00:19:20)
Continuity mistake: When Rhodey knocks Tony down, Rhodey's belt buckle is circular. When Rhodey is picking Tony back up, his belt buckle is now square-shaped. (00:19:29)
Revealing mistake: When MODOK is fleeing after the dragons have been defeated, the edge of an animation cel is visible on the right side of the screen. (00:19:13)
The Wedding of Iron Man - S1-E13
Continuity mistake: When the reverend is about to pronounce Tony and Julia husband and wife, Clint, Century, and a woman in blue seated between them are facing forward. When the shot changes, Clint is suddenly looking over at Century, and the woman in blue is looking at Clint. (00:13:35)
The Wedding of Iron Man - S1-E13
Continuity mistake: When Mandarin raises his right fist in the air and says "The rule of the Mandarin shall truly begin," his fingernails are suddenly shorter than they were shown to be just one shot prior. (00:07:45)
Origin of Iron Man: Part 2 - S1-E12
Continuity mistake: When Force Works regroups around IRVING to try to locate Tony Stark, Wanda is standing to the left of Century with both hands on her hips, and War Machine lands on her left. When the shot changes, she now only has her left hand on her hip while her right arm is straight down at her side, and she is now suddenly on War Machine's left. Additionally, Century has now moved several feet away and is standing next to Spider-Woman. (00:12:52)
Origin of Iron Man: Part 2 - S1-E12
Continuity mistake: When Fin Fang Foom and the Mandarin's two mechanical dragons are looking for Tony Stark, they are flying in a clockwise fashion above the crevice opening, and they all change color when reaching a certain position. The silver dragon starts out at around 6 o'clock and then turns into the green color of Fin Fang Foom when it reaches around 9 o'clock. Then Fin Fang Foom turns into the gold dragon when he reaches around 3 o'clock. Lastly, the gold dragon closes the loop by turning silver when it reaches around 6 o'clock. The process repeats itself four more times. (00:12:45)
Answer: Gleaned from the Internet: Some critics criticized the premise of so many one-off battles that were introduced and concluded within one or two episodes. Others felt the first-season plot lines were overly simplistic and never progressed or developed through the season. Also, the rivalry between Iron Man and the Mandarin also failed to capture viewer's attention.
raywest ★